The year 2009 marks the fourth centenary of the publication of Hugo Grotius’ famous pamphlet Mare Liberum, which played a significant role in the establishment of the international law principle of the freedom of the high seas. When commemorating 400 years of Mare Liberum, it goes without saying that an academic conference bringing together a variety of facets and opinions must have a central role in the programme of festivities. As such, the following institutions have joined forces to organize such a conference to take place on 11 December 2009: The Hague Academic Coalition (HAC), The Netherlands Institute for the Law of the Sea (NILOS), Utrecht University, Amsterdam Center for International Law (ACIL), University of Amsterdam, Stichting Grotiana and the Huygens Institute The organising body is the T.M.C. Asser Instituut, subsidizer of this conference is the city of The Hague. The conference is divided into two parts; morning sessions and afternoon sessions. Please find the schedule in the brochure which can be downloaded on this site.